A postcolonial Iraq watch dedicated to genuine Iraqi self-determination; a post-fundamentalist and post-liberal watch for consociational patriotism and a confessionalism beyond religious as well as secular sectarianism.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Fw: Communiqué on the Iraqi Election Frauds

COMMUNIQUE ON THE IRAQI ELECTION FRAUDSDEC. 13, 2005

Despite the assurance of the so-called Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq(IECI), on preventing 86000 illegal voters from tainting the electoral process in Kerkuk as they did in January 30, 2005 elections. They changed their decision and not only allowed the 86000 illegal voters from voting but opened the voter’s lists for further additions.This kind of reverse actions from the IECI are a good proof that they are under tremendous pressures from well known circles to serve their own agendas.With this kind of unjust actions and allowance for fraud on behalf of the IECI and the decision of the European Parliament for refusing to send election observers to Iraq, THE IRAQI ELECTIONS WILL NOT HAVE ANY CREDIBILITY AND THE RESULTS WILL BE QUESTIONABLE.We ask the American administration who labeled these elections as "democratic" to put and end to the tricks and frauds being displayed by the major players in the Iraqi arena.We ask the IECI to standby its original honest decision of preventing 86000 Illegal voters from further discrediting the Iraqi elections.

Orhan KeteneIraqi Turkmen FrontU.S. Representative

Translationof the communiqué (in French) which was sent to members and commissioners of the European Parliament in Brussels

COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE IRAQI TURKMEN RIGHTSBELGIUM14th December 2005

SUBJECT: ELECTORAL FRAUDS AND IRREGULARITIES IN IRAQ

The January 30, 2005 general election in Iraq has been tainted with multiple irregularities and frauds which have permitted to the coalition of the Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) to sweep off not only the totality of the seats of the three provinces which are under their control since 1991 (Erbil, Duhok and Suleymaniya) but also to appropriate the majority of the seats in the other northern provinces (Kerkuk, Musul, Salahaddin and Diyala) where they are clearly a minority, to the detriment of the Arabs, of the Turkmen and of the Chaldo-Assyrians.

These frauds and irregularities have permitted to the coalition of the Kurdish parties to obtain 55 seats out of a total of 275 and thus become the second most important parliamentary group in the country and impose itself on a national level as an ineluctable parliamentarian group to form the government and rule the country with powers which are clearly disproportionate with regard to its real representation in the country.

The Turkmen organizations and political parties have denounced in due time these frauds and irregularities committed during this election and they have sent letters of protest on the day following the election to the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) to contest the results of the election, especially for the following reasons:

1-The participation of 86.000 Kurdish voters, irregularly registered on the electoral lists in Kerkuk although they were not residents of this city. They had been brought to Kerkuk by the Kurdish parties after the invasion and occupation of the country in March 2003 in order to change the ethnic compostion of this city to impose their hegemony.

2- Preventing hundreds of thousands of Turkmen voters of Tel Afar, Musul, Kerkuk, Tuz Khurmatu, etc. to cast their votes. The Kurdish parties and their militias (peshmerga) which were de facto controling the election process in these regions used multiple pretexts to prevent the Turkmen from voting in these regions.

3- The Kurds organized electoral frauds in the regions under their control in order to inflate the number of voters in favour of the coalition of the Kurdish parties by allowing thousands of their partisans to vote several times in the same polling centers and by organizing the transport of thousands of their partisans to enable them to cast their votes in several polling centers on the day of the election.

4- The anarchy in the collection of the ballot boxes after the closing of the voting centers, the counting irregularities, the substitution of voting papers, etc...

Copies of the claims and letters of protest by the Turkmen political parties have also been sent to the Secretary General of the United Nations and to the Members and Commissioners of the European Parliament, informing them of the electoral frauds and irregularities which took place during the election, demanding their help in order to ensure that the next election in Iraq would take place in better and democratic conditions.

The IECI after verification of the electoral lists in Kerkuk had accepted the demands of the Turkmen parties and had removed the names of the 86.000 irregular voters from the voting lists in Kerkuk for the 15th December 2005 election, but unfortunately, once again under the pressure of Kurdish parties this commission volt-faced (reversed its decision) at the last minute.

In effect we have just learned that not only the IECI has cancelled its decision concerning the removal of the names of the 86.000 irregular voters from the electoral lists in Kerkuk, but that it has accepted the registration of thousands of other irregular voters on the electoral lists in Kerkuk !

These last minute decisions taken by the IECI in favour of the Kurdish parties and to the detriment of the Turkmen will falsify the results of the upcoming election in the province of Kerkuk and will remove all its credibility.

The Committee for the Defence of the Iraqi Turkmen Rights denounces the pressures made on the IECI by the Kurdish parties and condemns the decision of this Commission which allows tens of thousands of irregular voters to cast their votes in Kerkuk.

We ask the IECI to reverse its last decision and remove once and for all the names of the 86.000 irregular voters from the electoral lists in Kerkuk and to refuse the registration of the new irregular and illegal voters in Kerkuk.

We regret the absence of European observers during this election and we ask the Members and Commissioners of the European Parliament and the heads of political parties in Europe to take action and condemn such practices which are contrary to the basic principles of democracy.

Dr. Hassan AYDINLICommittee for the Defense of the Iraqi Turkmen Rights - Belgium.

1 Comments:

The Results of the 2nd Consultation Meeting which was organized by the Iraqi Turkmen Front and the participation of Turkmen organizations outside Iraq was held in Ankara on the 22-23rd of August 2006 have been undersigned and a decision was taken to release them to the public:

"The ITF, which was born from the bosom of Turkmeneli with the intent of uniting the Turkmen under one roof, has entered the politization process in its 11th year and starting from 2005.

The reason for this is that in the year 2005 Iraq experienced intensive political developments with the realization of two elections and a referendum. In the first elections and the referendum ITF gave an organized struggle, while during the second elections, it proved its majority as a political entity by entering the elections single handedly...

The primary problem of the Turkmen is Kirkuk. The annexing of Kirkuk to the North Region is unacceptable. Under the present conditions, even the holding of the referendum at the end of 2007 will not solve the problem. In fact, the decisions taken regarding Kirkuk are contradictory and without a legal basis.

It is a known fact that Iraq has been under occupation since March of 2003. The country has been administered for one and a half years according to a law called “Provisional Administration Law” which was accepted in 8th March 2004 to qualify as a constitutional law, although it had not been prepared and approved by the Iraqi people.

With the way things are, and the contents and approval method of the Iraq Constitutional Law being debatable, the Law only became valid after being ratified in a referendum held on the 15th of October 2005.

The mistakes which had been made in the Commissioned Provisional Administration Law had been repeated in the Constitutional Law, the rights of the Turkmen had been openly usurped.

In the Constitutional Law, the Turkmen were not accepted as a 3rd basic component next to the Arabs and Kurds. The Turkmen were considered as a minority status. Whereas the Turkmen have never been a minority.

Even Article 53 of the Provisional Administration Law which we disapprove and which legality is debatable, guarantees the administrative, cultural and political rights of the Turkmen, and foresees the independence of Baghdad and Kirkuk from any regional government. While this article is being ignored in the New Constitutional Law, article 58 of the Provisional Administration Law is being associated with article 140 of the new Constitutional Law compromising the future of Kirkuk...

It is a known fact that during the Saddam era, the number of enforced emigrations from Kirkuk is around 12.000.. Before the approval of the Constitutional Law or the formation of a committee to normalize Kirkuk and even more important, before holding a consensus, over 600.000 thousand Kurds are recruited and settled into the city and even allowed to vote. Thus even article 140 has been violated. The efforts spent now consist of finding cover that fits.

An understanding aimed at dividing Iraq and promoting the interests of some groups is not acceptable and worthy to us... If reason and tolerance are to prevail in Iraq, the address is clear and it is the Turkmen. In this case the rights of the Turkmen in Iraq cannot be forsaken to the mercy of some people and groups, Kirkuk cannot be used as bargaining or referendum material. Kirkuk must remain a city of Iraq and have a special status like Baghdad. Otherwise, all contention measures within democratic rules will be resorted to and steps will be taken for the removal of all injustices occurring in Turkmeneli..

In addition to this, we are unable to continue our political activities in Erbil. At present, the Turkmen of Erbil are groaning under the oppression of the Northern Administration. In Telafar we are experiencing very serious security problems. In addition, we request the Iraqi government to remove the negative conditions in Telafar by contributing to the improvement of the region and sending back the emigrants.

We request the Iraqi government that Telafar and Tuzhurmatu which have a concentrated Turkmen population to be declared “provinces”.

We will closely follow our problems for the existence, union and harmony of the Turkmen entity and share all the developments daily with the public because this country is ours and we love our country.."